Canada’s federal government has announced it will phase out ‘forever chemicals’, with the first phase tackling firefighting foams, followed by cosmetics, food packaging and textiles.
Since their invention in the 1940s, poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) have spread worldwide. They represent a group of around 12,000 different chemicals and are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because of their unbreakable chemical structure.
They consist of chains of carbon atoms of varying lengths surrounded by atoms of fluorine. These carbon-fluorine bonds repel both oil and water, which make them indispensable in a whole range of industries. They appear everywhere from non-stick cookware to waterproof cosmetics and clothing. They are also present in our general environment and in our bodies.
Scientists and campaigners have for a long time been drawing attention to the health and environmental concerns of exposure to some of these indestructible chemicals, and their link to cancer, immune system...